YMCA hopes to make a difference

When Matt Mullen, membership and marketing director of the YMCA of Northwest Illinois, began thinking about helping people lose weight, he wanted to make the program helpful to everyone within this community.

When Matt Mullen, membership and marketing director of the YMCA of Northwest Illinois, began thinking about helping people lose weight, he wanted to make the program helpful to everyone within this community.

In the past, the YMCA has held weight loss competitions where people won money to lose weight. Mullen said while the money was a good motivator, he wanted to motivate people this time around to not only lose the weight, but help feed another growing problem — people without food.

Mullen said there are two problems facing this local community, and it is growing at an alarming rate. Obesity is at a nationwide high, with diabetes rate skyrocketing in this area. On the other hand, the demand for local food pantries is also growing, with as many as 300 families being fed on the monthly basis at the Salvation Army.

The Give a Ton, Lose a Ton weight loss challenge through the YMCA kicks off Friday and runs through April 31. Mullen said his goal is to have the community lose 2,000 pounds during this time. One added difference is with each pound lost, he hopes participants donate one pound of food to the Salvation Army and the Freeport Area Church Cooperative (FACC).

Mullen said the YMCA has partnered with FHN for this health initiative. He said, “I want to get away from weight loss to win money, and while this was a good motivator, I wanted to do something to get people to think about health over money.

“Our goal with this latest challenge is to fight both obesity and hunger, which broadens the scope to give back to the community,” he added.

Give a Ton

“Our first goal as a community is to lose 2,000 pounds of weight. Our second goal is to donate over 2,000 of non-perishable food items to Salvation Army and FACC,” Mullen said. “We ask that those who want to help, seek food donations for very pound they lose.”

The free program will run between Feb. 1 and April 31. Participants will register at the YMCA front desk and be given a pledge sheet and participant number. There will be a weekly weigh in at the YMCA and self report to track the weight loss.

The main goal of this weight loss challenge is to get people to live a healthier lifestyle and raise awareness to a hunger problem in this community.

Nickee Bender, administrative assistant at Salvation Army in Freeport said food donations to this pantry usually drop off after Christmas. The next big food donation they usually receive does not come until May from the United Postal Service.

“We are seeing a great need for food items right now, and people are still coming in looking for food, and we have empty space on our shelves,” Bender said. “This weight loss program can greatly help us — a ton would be great.”

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Mullen said, “My goal with this program is to help everyone, and with the help of FHN to get the word out, we can bring people together to be healthier and help those in need.

“The beauty of this weight loss challenge is we can help people build a fitness routine — to make fitness and exercise part of every day life,” he added.